Learning from the Past
by StressOfWriting
Summary: Mitch (BajanCanadian) feels that something is wrong. His friends act strangely and don't recognize him, and it doesn't seem like a prank. For answers and solutions, Mitch has to travel back in time. But he does not know what he is going to deal with. (Contains YouTubers and some OCs. Rated T for language)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft. I do not own the YouTubers either.**

**Constructive criticism is welcomed!**

"Oh! Oh! I remember that place!" A bacca in a suit exclaimed. He gestured his fluffy hand to a picture of a vast scenery on the wall. "That was where Mitch and I won the Hunger Games last month. You remember, right, Mitch?"

Mitch hummed a "yeah" between large bites of his cooked chicken. He and his furry friend, Jerome, were at Mitch's house: a large shelter made out of oak planks with a cobblestone floor. The BajanCanadian was sitting on a wooden chair, finishing his meal, while Jerome was looking at the several pictures of Mitch and his friends' adventures on the wall. At the opposite wall, Sky was lounging on the couch, snoring. Mitch had invited them both to his house after a successful PVP event for a victory dinner.

"I have a photo album in the bookshelf over there." Mitch mumbled after swallowing some of the chicken, gesturing his head to a corner of bookshelves. "There's more things to look at." With that, Jerome headed towards the bookshelves and reached out for a fat, brown book. The bacca flipped to a section in the middle of the book. Mitch could identify the colorful squares on the pale brown pages.

After finishing his chicken, Mitch licked the grease of his rectangular fingers and got up. As he headed to Jerome, he heard another person entering the room. Mitch turned and nodded to the new person. It was Seto, cleaning a glass battle with a cloth. He was not with Mitch, Jerome, and Adam's PVPing today. But yesterday, Mitch saved Seto's life in the Nether from a swarm of Ghasts chasing him. Seto owed Mitch one, and today, he decided the best way to show gratitude was to brew a pack of potions to aid Mitch in the future.

"Done." Seto said with a relaxed sigh. "I put the potions in that empty chest near the crafting table."

"Thanks, Seto." Mitch replied. The BajanCanadian was now at Jerome's side, looking at the various pictures of him and his friends, giving a remark or two every now and then.

"Good times, biggums. Good times." Jerome chuckled, looking at a group picture of Team Crafted.

"Yup." Mitch replied with a smile. All those times he spent with his friends…Fun times.

Mitch looked up from the photo book and quickly gazed at the window. He was slightly blown back by the dark blue gnawing at the orange of the sky.

"Almost night already?" Mitch murmured outloud. His furry friend peeked at the window as well. He shut the photo album closed and placed it back on the bookshelf.

"Well, I guess I need to head back home." Jerome said. "Thanks again for the food, Mitch."

"You can stay here if you want." Mitch offered. "I have spare beds."

"Nah. Betty's gonna be all alone without me." Jerome replied. "I'll get home before the monsters spawn. Don't worry."

"I better get going too." Seto added. Mitch turned to see the sorcerer, who was stretching his arms. "It's been a long day."

"Alright." Mitch replied. "Sounds cool." He walked up to Sky, who was still dozed off on the couch. "Adam, wake up." He gave his friend a nudge.

"Huh, whoa, huh! What, huh, squids? Butter?" Sky jerked up with a lazy surprise. When he sighed in realization. "Oh, yeah. It's getting late." He got up from the couch, adjusting his sunglasses.

"See ya later, Mitch." Jerome said with a wave of his hand. "New Hunger Games tomorrow!"

"I'll be there." Mitch replied with playfulness. "So make sure you get some _niiiice_ sleep, Jerome." Of course, players did not need to sleep for energy. But Mitch was just having some fun. And with that, Jerome gave a nod and headed to the door. He opened it, stepped outside to the forest wilderness, and walked away. Seto and Sky then said their goodbyes; and Seto added another "thank you" for saving his life. They followed Jerome away from Mitch's house. When they disappeared into the forest's shadows, Mitch closed his own doors and headed to his bedroom. He had no other plans for tonight, so might as well sleep the rest of the day off.

The BajanCanadian flopped onto his red bed with a sigh. He felt great and was eager for tomorrow's Hunger Games. He recalled the last game, giggling about one goof Jerome did in the fight. Life was really fun in Minecraft for him. With a final sigh, Mitch closed his brown eyes and waited for his mind to fade to black.

But instead, it blinked white.

Mitch's vision was turning gray. What he expected next is for it to become completely black and wake up to a bright morning. However, by the time it got dark enough to barely see anything, Mitch swore he saw a flash of white. It was a quick blinding moment that was immediately replaced with darkness, the proper aspect of sleep. But Mitch did not felt himself falling asleep quickly, but he could not wake up. Even when he attempted to, the result was just a groan. His curiosity about the white flash soon disappeared when he felt something warm form in his body. It started in the upper part of his left arm. Later, it spread to his entire body. The warmth was like the heat of humiliation, only without the emotion.

Mitch sensed something strange. He tried to wake himself up again, but then suddenly relaxed. Another sigh escaped his lips and everything but sleep did not matter.

Like a normal wake-up, Mitch rose up on a new day. As he stretched his arms, he recalled the strange feelings he felt last night. What were those feelings? What happened? Was that a glitch in Minecraft? It did not felt like a mistake. It was like it had a purpose to irritate Mitch's sleep. But Mitch's mind felt deflated, like he forgotten something very vital. His brain did not want to cooperate.

"Hmm…" Mitch hummed, using the lack of energy in his mind to think of a theory. He was still brainstorming as he ate breakfast. What was that flash he saw last night?

The BajanCanadian was brought out of his weary thoughts by the sound of Jeffery's honks. He looked out of a window to search for the pig, and realized something. He had the Hunger Games with Jerome! He jumped out of his chair and speed-walked outside. After shutting the door, he sprinted out of the forest biome. He had to reach the urban area to meet Jerome outside the Hunger Games arena. He decided to worry about last night later. The Games would probably strengthen his mind anyways.

His sprint reduced into a trot when he arrived to a familiar urban lobby. He saw several other players walking on the gravel pathways, exchanging words. Some gave him quick glances, then returned to their business. Usually, players would greet Mitch instead of just look at him. But Mitch did not concern over that. The behavior was not too strange to be suspicious about.

Mitch slowed his walk when he saw the Hunger Games arena in front of him. It stretched halfway across the sky and casted its large shadow over the players outside. Mitch gazed at the structure for a moment before withdrawing his attention. The player then looked at the entrance of the arena. Near it were Jerome and Ian. Jerome had an iron sword clenched in his right hand. The bacca was discussing something with Ian. Mitch did not expect SSundee to be here. It was also strange for Jerome to not hold Betty. Mitch walked closer. With every step, Ian and Jerome's conversation grew clearer and clearer.

"Is something wrong Jerome?" SSundee asked. "You kinda look a bit down."

"No, I'm fine." Jerome replied flatly. "It's just that I feel like something is missing. The Hunger Games just don't feel really fun sometimes." Jerome did not like the Hunger Games? Mitch raised an eyebrow. His friend never gave any hints of grievances about the Games. What was wrong?

As he walked closer to Jerome and SSundee, he chimed out:

"Hey doods. What's happening?" He gave a smile. Jerome and Ian both perk up and slowly turned their gazes to Mitch. There were no smiles that greeted him back. There was no hate or sadness in either faces though.

"…oh, umm, hi." Jerome began awkwardly. The bacca looked at Mitch's shoes and slowly brought his gaze upwards to Mitch's head. "…Umm, your name is Mitch, right?"

Mitch took a step back. His smile turned into a confused, straight lip to match his bewildered eyes. His best friend was asking for his name. His best friend…asking for his name.

"Umm…yeah. My name is Mitch." The BajanCanadian replied slowly. He decided just to reply, to see what Jerome would do next.

"Oh, ok. Glad I got that right." Jerome replied back. Then he and Ian exchanged glances. Their expressions still were awkward. Then Ian looked back at Mitch.

"Oh, we should introduce ourselves now." Ian began. "I'm SSundee. This is Jerome. We're waiting for the Hunger Games to start."

Mitch was hit by another wave of confusion. Ian treated him like they never met before.

"I'm surprised you're here, Mitch." Jerome added. "I thought you wouldn't show for PVP events like the Hunger Games. I thought you would avoid those."

_I do PVP all the time!_ Mitch exclaimed to himself. _Why would I avoid them?_ What the hell was going on? Were Jerome and Ian pretending to not know Mitch just to prank him? No, they could not be. If they were, they would not ask for clarification of Mitch's name and mention a false relationship with him and PVPing. Was it something Mitch said to upset his friends? Mitch did nothing bad to Jerome yesterday. And pretending not to know Mitch did not seem the best revenge-like action.

"…Umm, guys." Mitch slowly began. He knew that what he was about to ask them was going to sound stupid; but he needed to know. "Do you guys…know who I am?" Ian and Jerome glanced at each other once again, more confusion written into their faces.

"Well, we know you." Jerome answered. "We know you, and…we don't know you."

"What Jerome's trying to say is," Ian added. "That we heard of you, but, we never got to know you personally."

Mitch tilted his head to his right in confusion. He was now positive that this was neither a prank nor a change of behavior. Did…something happened to SSundee and Jerome's memories? Whatever that was, it caused them to think that Mitch was not their friend. What else did they forgot? Mitch recalled the absence of a certain diamond axe.

"Well, umm." Mitch began, trying to talk his way out of the crazy conversation. "It's been nice talking to you two. But I need to get going now. Nice knowing you two…Oh! And, take good care of Betty when you find her." The last statement was added last minute. If Ian and Jerome's memories were truly altered, then maybe mentioning something familiar would hopefully refresh their memories. However, both players looked at Mitch with no change of expression.

"Who's Betty?" Jerome asked with a shrug.

"…Umm, nevermind. Goodbye." Mitch concluded. He finally turned around. He began to walk away from the arena, looking down at the gravel path. Later, an alarm went off, announcing that the Hunger Games was about to start.

"Oh, let's get in!" Jerome shouted, suddenly excited.

"Whoo!" Ian added. Mitch heard them run into the arena.

A storm of confusion was driving Mitch's mind insane. What was going on? What happened to Ian and Jerome's memories? Then, Mitch's head suddenly jerked up. An idea had struggled out of the confusing mass in his brain. Maybe it was not Ian and Jerome. Maybe it was something else that knocked down order in Mitch's view. He needed to investigate, and he knew a place to start.

The BajanCanadian began to sprint out of the urban city and back to the forest biome. He arrived back to his home. The photo album! The pictures Mitch and his friends had taken! If there were still there, then his friend's memories must be the problem. If the pictures were not present, then Mitch's problem was bigger than he could handle.

He slammed the door open and ran inside. He did not bother to close the door. He immediately skimmed through his book collection to find the photo album he shared to Jerome yesterday. He looked through the bookshelves three times, each time more careful than the previous one. But he could not find the familiar, thick binding of the album. It was like it never existed.

Then Mitch turned. He had to see the pictures that hung on his wall. When he did, he gasped. The picture frames were still there, but they did not hold the same pictures. One showed Mitch alone, feeding a sheep wheat. Another had Mitch looking over a cliff. The third one still had Mitch alone. Mitch, Mitch, Mitch. There was no photo that showed Jerome, or any of his other friends.

Mitch turned around again, his back against the wall of photos. He took deep breaths. Everything was too much to handle. He needed to organize himself. He rounded up everything he learned today. Jerome did not expect Mitch for the Hunger Games. Jerome and Ian did not know him enough to consider Mitch as a friend. And Jerome did not have Betty with him. Did he even use an axe at all?

Chaotic puzzle pieces they were. But they all had one thing in common: Mitch was forgotten by Jerome and SSundee. And they were not acting like their normal selves.

Something was wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft. I do not own the Youtubers either.**

**Constructive criticism appreciated!**

Mitch trudge back into his house in defeat. Water covered his entire body and his hoodie sagged on his shoulders. Mitch gave out a defeating groan, arms up in defeat.

"Well, _that_ didn't work." He grumbled. Here was the story: after calming down from the crazy situation, Mitch began to investigate for a solution of the problem. The first hypothesis that popped into his now stable mind was that it was all just a dream. Trying to wake himself up would be a simple and safe stepping stone. However, gently pinching himself was fruitless. But desperate to not give in the possible solution, Mitch went to the extremes in hopes of suddenly finding himself jerking awake on his bed. Suicide and respawning. Banging his head. Charging to a hoard of hostile mobs. Diving into water. They all came to no results, each test feeling more ridiculous. And on the last test – diving into a lake– Mitch was finally convinced that it was all real, especially when he felt the pain of everything.

"Great." Mitch mumbled as he dried himself. With his problem real, it was going to be extremely difficult to solve it. He needed to properly investigate it now. He needed to see other people, see their reactions to him. He figured it was vital to know if it was just Jerome and Ian acting differently, or all of Minecraft.

After getting prepared, Mitch left his house once again. This time, instead of heading back to the urban town, he trekked to find another place. He recalled the unnamed players in the urban area who did not gave much attention to Mitch. He predicted that they were ignoring him as a stranger and if he interacted with them, they would treat him how Jerome and Ian did. He decided to see if a different player-inhabited place would do the same.

After a walk out of the forest, Mitch spotted a large village in the distant. He squinted his brown eyes, reading the tiny moving dots at the village. He identified a handful of villagers and a decent amount of players as well. BajanCanadian intended to head to another large lobby, but the village would do. He continued to walk, heading towards it. Even before he set foot on it, some players were already giving him a quick look, and that was all. No recognition. Just like the others in the urban area. The villagers, however, did more than just put their eyes on Mitch. They turned their whole body to see him. And some gave sour looks. By the time Mitch arrived, it seemed like the glares turned even uglier. Mitch could not help but slow down his walk and give nervous glances back at the villagers. He felt like the villagers' behavior was a clue about his problem.

Overall, no one gave Mitch a word. There were some that gave a welcoming nod, but he could tell they were just being polite to a stranger.

"Potions! Potions of swiftness! Potions for emeralds!" Mitch turned and saw a villager standing next to a cobblestone library, waving a potion of swiftness in the air desperately. "Please, anyone wants some potions?" The villager pleaded. Like Mitch, people just passed by, ignoring the villager. For a moment, Mitch felt pity for the villager, but he already had his own troubles to deal with.

"Potions! Potions!" The potion merchant turned and met Mitch's brown gaze. The villager put down his arm and his green eyes narrowed. "Oh, it's you again." He snorted with disgust. BajanCanadian looked around, searching for another person nearby. There was no one looking directly back at the villager. He looked back at the villager, who still looked irritated.

"Me?" Mitch asked, pointing to himself.

"Yeah, you." The villager scoffed. "I'm surprised you showed your nose-less face back here, after all that happened."

"Wait, wait." Mitch felt the flint and steel of hope ignite his inner block of optimism. "You know me?"

"Of course I know you. We all do." The merchant gestured to several villagers, who still kept their hateful glares fresh at Mitch. "You and your buddy were here last week. Remember?"

"Last week?" The hope in Mitch distinguished. The last time Mitch visited this village was two months ago. He wanted an understandable answer. Instead, he just got another abstract puzzle piece that did not connect with the others.

"Playing innocent, huh?" The villager challenged. _Man, what an attitude_, Mitch thought.

"Pretending that nothing happened?" The merchant continued his rant. "Well, I'm gonna tell you what happened anyway. You and your friend came here last week and stayed for a night. Your friend said that you two were not going to cause any trouble in the village." The villager rolled his eyes before continuing. "But, you could have told us that you and your buddy were bringing a zombie siege along. And you two were not helpful defending us, since you both went out mining. Just be lucky that there were few casualties, especially when zombies have become more hostile."

_Since when were zombies dangerous?_ Mitch did not ever saw them as a threat, even if they were in an apocalyptic swarm. The order in his mind collapsed again by another wave of confusion. He did not recall any of those events. And who was this "friend" the villager kept saying. Did that mean Mitch was not alone in this strange situation? Was this "friend" a familiar player, or a complete stranger?

Anyways, Mitch drew another conclusion. Like Jerome and Ian, the villager had bogus knowledge about him. Based off the angry glares of the other villagers, the whole village was on the same page. So it was not just Jerome and Ian. Everyone probably had their perspective of Mitch altered somehow.

"Potions! Potions of swiftness, anyone?" The villager resumed to trying to get the attention of customers. After a few more calls, he gave BajanCanadian another resentful glance.

"You should get out of here." He growled softly. "Or we're gonna…or we're gonna…" The merchant looked up, his green eyes glwing with thoughts. Then he shook his head. "Oh, I don't know, but you should get out of here anyways. Potions! Anyone! Just for a few emeralds!"

Mitch was speechless, not knowing what to say to the potion merchant. He knew that he could not just tell anyone about the problem he was having. They would think he was crazy. A moment later, he remembered about the "friend" the villager mentioned. He opened his mouth to ask the villager about his "friend's" identity, until someone interrupted him.

"Oh, what potions are these?" A familiar voice asked. Mitch turned and jumped back at the sight of Seto. Sky was behind Seto, remaining quiet. The potion merchant set his waving arm down and looked hopefully at Seto.

"These are potions of swiftness." The villager said with eagerness. That was the first time Mitch heard the merchant happy.

"I'll take those off your hands." Seto replied, a hint of eagerness in his voice as well. There was also a small smile on his face. "These are just what I need."

"Great!" The merchant exclaimed loudly. "How much do you need?"

"At least four."

"Perfect, I have exactly four! Five emeralds!"

Seto began to pat down his own body, as if looking for a lost pocket. As he searched himself, he let out a yawn. Mitch, who was quiet and unnoticed all the time, noticed Seto's appearance. He still had the same clothing and skin, but redstone dust was sprinkled on his clothes in several places. Yesterday, he was clean. Mitch also noticed that there was some pink and red veins running in the white part of Seto's eyes. The sorcerer did let out a yawn. Was he tired? It was unusual for a player to get tired, since they were only concerned about hunger and health. Seto must have done an unbelievable amount of work to wear himself out.

Why did Seto result to a villager for potions anyways? He made a chest of potions for only a few items yesterday. Out of resources for brewing did not seem a believable reason of Seto's change. The redstone dust and tiredness defied that possible explanation.

Seto found and pulled out three emeralds. The sorcerer looked back to Sky. "You have any extra emeralds?" He asked. "I'll exchange them for some gold ingots I have." Adam shook his head.

"Sorry, don't have any." He said. "And why would I want some gold ingots?" There was no emotion in the last statement. _Yeah, Sky's definitely not himself._ Mitch thought. He did not think about any alternative reasons of Sky's change to butter. But on another note, Mitch's heart broke. Betty not existing was somewhat tolerable, but butter possibly rejected by Sky...It was sad to see his friends not be themselves, especially when Mitch did not know why.

"Damn it." Seto muttered, bringing Mitch back to the new crazy world that was now his reality. "I really need those potions." A small idea sparked in Mitch. He had attempted to renew Jerome's memory by mentioning Betty. Maybe showing kindness to Seto would hopefully produce any recognition. Mitch quickly scanned his own inventory. Fortunately, he spotted and pulled out two emeralds.

"I have some emeralds." Mitch offered, showing them in his hand. _Please work._

Seto and Sky both perk up by Mitch's voice. They both turned to see BajanCanadian.

"Oh, thank you sir." Seto replied. "Do you want some of my gold ingots in return?" Something glinted in Seto's eyes. But based on how Seto formally addressed to Mitch as if he was a stranger, Mitch knew that the glint was not of recognition, but gratefulness. The shine in Seto's eyes matched the same expression Mitch saw on Seto two days ago after escaping the Nether. Like Sky and butter, Seto gave Mitch a pang of sadness. But this time, Mitch stayed in reality.

"Umm, yeah. I take butter – err – gold." Mitch replied. It was so odd having butter's true name sitting on his tongue.

Seto took out five butter ingots. He and Mitch exchanged their minerals. As Mitch tucked the butter into his inventory, Seto returned his attention to the potion merchant. Sky still looked at Mitch.

"You're Mitch, right?" Adam asked. Mitch nodded. He had been through this with Jerome and Ian. He was less hesitant and confused to respond.

"Oh, alright. Nice." Sky replied before looking back at Seto and the villager. Mitch figured that Sky and Seto did not know who he was. It did not surprise Mitch as strongly as his interaction with Jerome and Ian.

"Thanks." Seto said to the villager after placing the potions of swiftness into his inventory.

"No problem." The merchant replied. But he was totally immersed into observing his emeralds, as if afraid they would vaporize in a moment. Looking back at Sky, Seto said, "OK, where do you want to do again?" Sky pointed out west of the village.

"A few block away." Sky explained. "Brice and Ty found this cool prison to play Cops and Robbers in. We should get going now." Seto nodded in agreement. Then he quickly turned back to Mitch, who still remained silent.

"Thanks for the emeralds." He said. Mitch gave a nod. When Seto and Sky turned away to walk, Mitch finally allowed himself to think. _I'm alone._ He told himself, repeating facts over again. _No one knows me. My friends aren't themselves either._ He sighed, crossing his arms. The strange problem: it was real, he lacked knowledge to fix it, and no one can support him. This was a beyond enormous problem. The odds of Mitch finding a solution to the monstrous problem was Nether low. What should he do know?

He looked up Sky and Seto walking away again. Mitch felt unsatisfied. Not because of his visit to the grumpy village. He felt like he was not done with seeking hints for his problem here. Despite all of the bewilderment and some sadness, learning about Sky and Seto's changes were not enough. Even before he made up his mind, Mitch found himself walking towards Adam and Seto. He did it in a silent way. He did not want to be caught and arouse suspicion in his two lost friends. He noticed the glares of the villagers lessening. Now none of them gave attention to Mitch. Mitch did looked like he was leaving.

Sky and Seto were still in the village, but getting closer to the edge of it. Mitch quickly jumped behind a building, keeping his ears sharp, when Sky began a conversation.

"Why do you need those potions of swiftness?" He questioned Seto. "You said you would never brew or use potions again a long time ago." Seto did not make potions? Mitch grown almost immune to the unbelievable reality. The new fact did not surprise Mitch. At least his mind did not crumble from discord.

"I know I don't use potions." Seto sighed to Adam. "But, I need them for just a project I'm working on."

"Project?" Sky asked. The sounds of footsteps paused. "Is that why you've been collecting alot of resources for the past few months?" Mitch remembered the redstone dust on Seto and how tired he looked. Mitch edged closer to the edge of the building he was hiding behind. He needed to hear more. Was this the knowledge and clues he wanted?

"What's your project?" Sky said again. Mitch had not heard a reply from Seto yet. Maybe Seto nodded his answer or said "yes" while Mitch was thinking.

"Alright," Seto began, taking a breath. "Sounds crazy, but I'm trying to craft something I call a time pearl: a tool with the ability to travel across time." Mitch's heart flipped. There was that bewildered feeling that was present with Jerome and Ian, but not with Sky and Seto. As if this could work, Mitch narrowed his eyes and focus more on Seto's voice. He did not want to miss a single word.

"What?!" Sky gasped loudly. "Time traveling? How?"

"This is just a test," Seto replied. "But, so far, my crafting recipe contains the potions of swiftness, an ender pearl, some diamonds, and six stacks of redstone. And that recipe only makes one item."

"Holy crap! That much!" Sky exclaimed. Those were Mitch's thought as well.

"Expensive, but they're all important. Redstone especially. In theory, all of that redstone being squeezed into one item can produce massive lag to its user. And with the ender pearl and the potion of swiftness supporting it, that lag can transform into the ability to go forward or backward in time." Mitch swallowed a gasp. Now his mind was blown. Not by confusing surprise, but by the incredible logic of Seto's. Time traveling possible? That was insane. He had to admit, Seto's theory could work!

It seemed like Sky was as blown as Mitch. "Holy shit!" Adam exclaimed. "Seto, that's freaking awesome! Why didn't you tell anyone about this? I could have helped you gather all of the materials." Seto chuckled.

"Where did you get that idea anyways?" Sky asked.

"Well, it's not my idea. I found out that someone already tried that idea a long time ago." Seto began. "But people said that the product wasn't release to the public due to issues."

"What issues? The fabric of time got ripped up and put back together in wrong places?" Sky said jokingly.

"Probably." Seto chuckled. "Well, even if time did get altered, why bother thinking about it? I don't sense anything weird with the world we have. Anyways, I did my research. I guarantee that my time pearl is gonna be safer. Now that I have everything, I should get it done tonight, but I'll test it the next morning."

Adam chuckled again. After a pause, he added, "OK, we really need to get to Brice and Ty now. Maybe if your time pearl works, you can travel to the past and tell us to hurry up for Cops and Robbers." After another small round of laughing, the footsteps continued with a sprinting rhythm. Then the sound vanished.

Mitch sighed in relief, leaning back against the building's wall. Then he walked back onto the pathway, seeing Sky and Seto faraway now, nearly dots in the background. Wow, he was amazed by Seto's lecture about the time pearl thing. It was actually pretty awesome, even though the idea was created by the Seto Mitch was not used to.

As Mitch walked out of the village, heading back to his home, he replayed Sky and Seto's discussion in his mind. BajanCanadian had put aside his problem for a moment. Seto had rounded up his troubles into a tight space in the back of his mind. The lag. The ender pearl. The inspiration. The original –

Mitch paused in his steps when he recalled the part when Seto and Sky joked about time possibly altered a long time ago. A time alter! Could that be the cause of the mess Mitch was in? His friends' thought about Mitch were vague and false. Every villager and player's view on him were wrong. From deep in his memories, Mitch remembered the white flash last night and his concerns about it. Could one sense…_see_...time rearrange?

_This…this has to be it!_ Mitch's mind exclaimed. Someone or something must had modified the past and altered the present. What altered time, Mitch did not know. But it had to do with his new position in reality, his friends' change, and the distance between them. Who or what caused the time alter? If it was someone, why would he or she bent time? Why did it involve Mitch and his friends? And, how come Mitch was not affected by the time alter, compared to his friends?

The order in Mitch's thoughts tried to swat away the new questions, fearing they would trigger another disaster of confusion. But Mitch's conscience was tempted to snatch the questions and connect them with his other abstract puzzle pieces. Mitch did not think of any other possibilities that could have caused his problem. He was dead positive that the time alter was the reason of everything. Now, he just needed a corresponding solution to fix the problem. Mitch felt he could never adapt to the new reality he was in. He needed his friends. The friends he knew. The Betty and butter they cheered. Their true selves. Mitch more than longed for his old life. This new reality was not life.

Mitch's heart screamed for the world to be fixed. Mitch dug through his working mind. How could he recover the unaltered past and fix the present? Mitch resulted to the possible answer that shouted the loudest of all: go back in time and stop the time alter. How? Mitch again recalled the conversation that introduced Mitch to this bright path. Seto's time pearl. Mitch was going to have to steal it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft. I do not own the YouTubers either.**

**Constructive criticism appreciated!**

Mitch could not help but look out of the window. He lost track of how many times he checked the sky. In every check, the blocky sun barely moved, still in its late afternoon area. Mitch almost got too paranoid, that he feared that someone glued the sun in place. The anxiety was driving him insane. Mitch knew that Minecraft hours were shorter than the hours of the spherical world called Earth. But in Mitch's case, the Minecraft hours had stretched longer than a whole Earth day!

Mitch longed for night to come. He had faith that Seto would craft his time pearl tonight, as the sorcerer stated to Sky. Mitch planned to steal the completed time pearl at night when Seto went to bed.

It had been three hours since Mitch returned from the village. The first hours went by fast, compared to the slow remaining hours. During the first two hours, Mitch searched for Seto's house. He was glad that Seto's house was at the same location from Mitch's unaltered life. If Seto built his house somewhere else due to the time alter, Mitch did not know what he would do.

For the third hour, Mitch prepared himself. He remembered that Seto made potions for him and put them in a chest. Mitch approached the chest near his crafting table. He opened it, only to be disappointed by a chest with only two stone axes inside. _Damn it, you time alter._ Mitch thought, staring at the almost empty chest angrily. He should have known. The new Seto was not Mitch's friend and did not make potions. Seto's potions did not disappear. They were forbidden to exist.

Mitch sighed in disappointment. Those potions could have really benefitted Mitch's journey to the past. _Oh well. Guess I'll just have to deal without them._ Mitch closed the chest and walked to his other, full chests. He rummaged through them for equipment. Diamond armor, diamond sword, wood, cobblestone, food, a crafting table, and a furnace. He did not have Betty and did not have enough diamonds to craft her. But he did not want to risk going mining. He feared he would get too engrossed into it that he would miss his chance to steal the time pearl. He wanted Betty as a weapon and a good luck charm. Well, like the potions, Mitch just needed to go without Betty. Besides, he was good with his diamond sword, armor, and other supplies. He was bringing supplies because Mitch's desired plan would happen at night, when hostile mobs were active. Also, who knew what Mitch would face in the past.

After double checking his supplies, the remaining hours stretched, torturing Mitch.

When a wanted sunset arrived, Mitch's heart exploded with happiness. BajanCanadian checked his supplies again, seeing that he had everything. It was time to steal the time pearl.

Mitch put on his diamond armor and exited his house. After shutting the door, he looked around for any mobs. Mitch heard nothing. He tightened his grip on his diamond sword and began walking. He paused every now and then to hear any sounds. But nothing was active. Soon, Mitch began to walk to Seto's barely concerned of his surroundings.

BajanCanadian was still deep in the forest and Seto's house was located at the plains ahead. All Mitch was focused on was getting out of the forest. He kept looking forward, speeding up his walk. Then he heard something faint.

_"Don't do this…"_

Mitch stopped and his heart almost swallowed itself. He quickly turned around, searching for someone. But what was behind him were just trees casting shadows. Mitch held his breath, listening hard. No footsteps. No one. What happened? Who called him? Was it someone who knew about Mitch's problem? Or was it just another confusing faction in his situation. A trick? Mitch needed to test this.

He turned, facing again to the path to Seto's. He walked a few more steps. He expected the voice to repeat itself in order to get his attention again. Mitch looked back but kept walking. There was still no one insight. He decided to pass it off as a trick. He turned his gaze back to the path and continued walking.

The moon was a quarter up in the sky when Mitch arrived at Seto's house. Seto's house was a stone building that rested on the plains, with the forest directly to the left of it. Mitch hid behind a tree in the forest side, clenching his sword and looking inside the house through a window.

Mitch's heart was racing. The last time it had been jumpy was when Mitch heard the faint voice in the forest. BajanCanadian was worried about Seto spotting him. He did not know how to explain himself to Seto if that happened. Compared to iron and leather, bright diamond armor would stand out in the dark. Mitch was also worried about mobs finally noticing him, especially when the faint voice spooked him. Mobs could also draw Seto's attention. However, Mitch spotted no monsters yet. This…this theft. It feels _too_ easy. Why? Mitch shook his head. He refused to not confuse himself more. He needed to get the time pearl. If there was an inactivity of hostile mobs, he would gladly take that advantage.

Mitch saw Seto through the window. Seto was near his crafting table with an ender pearl in his hand. In his other hand was a syringe that was light blue inside. The color of a potion of swiftness. Seto injected the syringe into the ender pearl. The inside of the pearl exploded with a hue of blue and consumed the original dark color. Seto placed the empty syringe down and picked up a stack of redstone. Mitch did not see what happened to the ender pearl next, for he turned his attention to other things.

He noticed a second blue ender pearl on the crafting table. And next to the crafting table…was not a cauldron. Mitch remembered seeing a black cauldron by the crafting table last time he had been in Seto's. But, it was not there. Seto's brewing stands were not in their usual place either. Mitch did not see an enchantment table. Mitch was again sadden by the change in Seto. Why did his friends changed? Was the time alter responsible for it? Mitch made a note that when he arrives to the past, he would make sure his friends stay how he like them.

After examining the house, Mitch returned his focus on Seto again. In Seto's hands were two blue ender pearls. Mitch could not see his face, but he sensed satisfaction from Seto. The sorcerer then approached to a chest next to the crafting table, opened it, and placed the two pearls inside. After closing the chest, Seto stretched his arms. Then Seto turned away from the chest and walked to another room: his bedroom. Seto stumbled into his bed and did not rise.

_Is he asleep?_ Mitch questioned himself. He tiptoed closer to the house. Mitch pressed himself gently against the stone wall. His right ear was squeezed into the wall and his brown eyes looked into the window. Seto was lying on his bed, breathing steadily and eyes closed.

Slowly, Mitch lifted a shaky arm up and softly tapped the glass of the window. After two taps, he quickly drew it back to his side. Seto did not budge. Mitch tapped the glass harder. The result was the same: Seto did not wake up. Mitch did it several more times, each tap louder than the previous one. Finally, Mitch concluded that the sorcerer was fast asleep. The steal was going to be too easy. Seto would not be a problem after all.

On that note, Mitch felt a spark ignite in his brain. He looked up to the night sky, not thinking about himself and his task for once. Seto must really be tired, and players rarely got tired! Mitch remembered Seto in the village. He looked terrible and had to gather all of the resources for the time pearl on his own. A time pearl needed _six_ stacks of redstone. Six! And a handful of ingots as well. Seto had worked very hard to accomplish creating the time pearl. And all of Seto's effort would be stolen tonight.

_Why am I doing this?_ Mitch was going to steal from his friend. He was going to steal an expensive item without credit. He could not even start thinking about Seto's reaction realizing that his work had been stolen.

Coming to think of it, Mitch thought about Seto's feelings. Despite being exhausted, Seto did not look lost or sad in the village. He seemed content in his Mitch-less life. That also seemed to be the case for Ian and Sky. Jerome was unsatisfied with the Hunger Games, but…maybe something could work out.

Mitch knew for a fact that going to the past would be extremely risky. His motivation was to stop the past. But, will it be worth it? It was not like Minecraft would be destroyed without Mitch. Perhaps Mitch could deal with his new life and try to befriend his changed friends. It was simple to make friends. Why do it the hard way by messing with time? Sure, it may not be the same, but life was never the same in Minecraft to every stone mined and every update.

"Don't do this." The mysterious words echoed in Mitch's mind. He still did not know who spoke them, but maybe he should consider it. Don't do this. Do not travel to the past. Go home. Adapt to this new life.

Mitch's eyes widen. He looked back to the ground and shook his head. No. Stealing the time pearl was a now or never situation. Tomorrow, Seto would use the time pearl and the chance would be gone. It would take ages to craft a new one. And Mitch did not know how to craft his own time pearl.

Also, according to Ian, Mitch's new role in life had something to do with avoiding other players. Mitch did not know the full backstory of his new life. However, his instincts told him that his new life was going to bite if Mitch tried to shape it into his old one. He felt like if he became friends with his old friends, he would drag them into a dangerous situation. BajanCanadian's heart beats quickened. He looked at his diamond sword. He was already prepared for his trip to the past. He believed that it was the right thing. There was no turning back.

Mitch quickly rechecked Seto, who was still asleep. Mitch then edged towards the door of the house. It turned out to be an iron door. Mitch felt the stone wall with his hand. He slide his hand around until he felt a button. He pressed it. When the door opened, Mitch entered inside swiftly, but tensed. He was wincing with worry that the button would wake Seto up. His hearings sharpened. All he heard was the door closing and snoring. If Seto could sleep through the glass tapping and the door opening, then he would not be a problem.

Mitch gazed around the room illuminated by glowstones. At a side of the room was the crafting table and the chests. Cautiously, Mitch approached to the chest that was to the left of the crafting table. That chest was where Seto put the time pearl. He crouched down and opened the chest slowly, the creaks long and creepy. Mitch jumped in surprise to see not one, but two blue ender pearl to the chest. Why were there two? Mitch shrugged to himself. Probably the second one was an emergency time pearl.

Mitch reached into the chest and took one of the blue ender pearls. The moment he touched it, he felt some feeling run through his veins. It was like an exciting second life was calling out inside his blood. Mitch looked at the time pearl, turning it at different angles. It was heavier than an ender pearl; at the same time, it felt like it was hovering in his hand. The time pearl was like a snow globe. The blue inside exploded to several directions when shaken. Mitch also saw specks of redstone dancing with the blue. It looked pretty, actually.

Mitch looked over the time pearl and back into the chest. He noticed a book lying next to the second time pearl. He leaned closer to the chest to see the book. The book was brown, skinny, and titled "Time Pearl Notes". Mitch, knowing that the book would be useful, set down his diamond sword and used his empty hand to pick up the book. Mitch flipped the book open.

"A time pearl gives a player the ability to travel to the past or future." The print on the first page read. "Time travelling happens when one uses a potion of swiftness and ender pearl while lagging." Mitch turned to the next page. "A time pearl contains strong energy that links the holder's mind to it." Strong energy? That may explain the feeling Mitch experienced when he picked up the time pearl.

"With the time pearl and the holder linked, the player can use the time pearl. He simply needs to think about what time period he wants to go, then toss the pearl. Before he knows it, he's in the past or future. Mitch lowered the book. He realized he did not know how deep he wanted to travel to the past. He did not know when the time alter happened. BajanCanadian cursed under his breath softly. He was starting to doubt himself and his reckless plan again. However, he continued reading. He hoped that something would come up to him when he reads more.

"It's vital that a player has two time pearls." The third page read. "One to travel to the future or past, and one to return to the present. A time pearl can only be used once." Mitch realized that it sounded reasonable. So there was a purpose for the second time pearl. Of course, Mitch intended to return to the present after stopping the time pearl. He set the book down and reached back into the chest for the second time pearl.

_Skkrrrreee!_

Mitch's heart sprang into his throat. Mitch's empty hand leapt out of the chest, forgetting about the second time pearl. Gulping his heart back down, he turned to the iron door, where the frightening sound came from. There was a shiny diamond sword piercing through the iron. And the sword was unbelievably sawing the door open. Thick, uneven gaps were already forming on the door. Mitch stood up and looked through the window. He did not see who was using the sword. Just a dark figure. But the shadow was not alone. Accompanying the silhouette were zombies and skeletons, eying at Mitch. Mitch's heart pace quickened. He picked up his own diamond sword with a tense grip, ready to defend himself.

Soon, the door broke. The hostile mobs began to crawl into the house. Zombies already struggled inside and approached Mitch. Mitch quickly fought them. He tucked his only time pearl under his hoodie. The zombies attacking Mitch were soon killed. Then Mitch realized that skeletons were shooting arrows at him. One already shot his leg. BajanCanadian flexed off arrows using his swords, but was overwhelmed. A skeleton limped towards Mitch. Then an arrow stabbed into its leg and the monster collapsed. Several more arrows aimed at the skeletons. They and Mitch turned to see Seto readying another arrow with a bow. Pure shock was in Seto's brown eyes.

Zombies and skeletons limped towards Seto, who cowarded back.

"No! Seto, I'm coming!" Mitch called out, charging into the pack of monsters. Mitch stabbed two zombies out of the way. Soon, he found himself back-to-back with Seto, fighting the mobs.

"Where did they all come from?" Seto gasped. "Where did _you_ come from?"

"Long story. I'll explain later." Mitch replied. "After we kill off all of these mobs." A hint of a playful tone was in his respond. To be honest, he was starting to have fun. It was great to be fighting with a friend again, even though Seto had no clue.

Mitch looked outside. More monsters were approaching the house. So now they come, after Mitch's quiet trek through the wild? Yeah, he had a long, crazy day, but Mitch was blown that a sword could cut through an iron door just like that. Also, who cut the door open?

Mitch's thoughts were disrupted by the sound of a whizzing arrow stabbing into his shoulder. He hissed at the pain. Skeletons were surrounding him and Seto. Mitch charged at a skeleton, swinging his sword at it. When it was knocked down, Mitch repeated the process with a zombie.

"Ah, help me!" Seto cried softly. Mitch whipped around to see Seto being ganged by zombies. Mitch tried to jog into the rescue, but tripped on a skeleton skull. As he collapsed to the floor, Mitch saw something fly in the air. The time pearl. It slipped out of his inventory!

BajanCanadian face planted on the wood floor. He was only able to lift up his head to see the time pearl hit the floor. The pearl's shell shattered and a blue mist exploded out of the pearl. The mist swallowed Mitch into unconsciousness. Mitch suddenly felt sleepy and his playfulness drained out of him. He weakly lifted his head more to see a surprised Seto, looking directly at Mitch.

The last thing Mitch heard was a loud "No!". It was not Seto's voice. However, it sounded familiar.

The shout could have disorganized Mitch's thoughts again. However, the blue cloud darkened Mitch's world before his mind could react.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft. I do not own the YouTubers either. I do own the OCs (Lightning and Millie) though.**

**I kinda hated this chapter. It was very difficult to put together. Grr *tableflip* *crash* So, if you see anything that's confusing or "doesn't feel right", let me know. Hopefully, the next chapters would elaborate more.**

"Honk!"

Mitch groaned. His thoughts and vision were fogged up. His palms and fingers felt grass and dirt underneath them. Mitch lifted his head, realizing that he was lying on the ground, his back against the sky.

He blinked his eyes several times and tried to push himself into a sitting position. He was too weak and ended up falling back on the ground. The small fall did not hurt his head. It was soft, actually. Mitch remembered the grass he felt with his hands.

"Honk!"

"Ah, Jeffery!" Mitch murmured. He swung his left arm around his surroundings. His hand touched nothing but air.

"Where are you?" Mitch asked. Finally, his vision fully refreshed. His eyes were greeted by sunlight and trees. A pig was a few blocks in front of Mitch, looking innocently at him.

"Oh, there you are." Mitch sighed. Jeffery just gave Mitch an adorable, blank expression. Mitch felt strength waking up with him. He lazily sat up and shook his head. He looked around. He was sitting in a grassy, plain biome. To the left was a small, young forest. No one but Jeffery was nearby. It was peaceful and calmed Mitch until his thoughts finally functioned.

"Where am I?" Mitch told himself. He did not recall sleeping in the middle of the wilderness.

"Honk." Jeffery snorted.

"That won't help." Mitch joked to the pig. Mitch scanned through his recent memories as he looked at the forest. His eyes widen. Seto. Mobs. Iron door. Time pearl.

BajanCanadian immediately jumped up to his feet. He frantically looked around. He did not spot Seto nor his house anywhere. Then again, if Mitch truly did went to the past, the house might not be built yet. However, the time pearl was never tested before. It could have teleported him to a distant place in the lieu of travelling back in time. The forest looked unfamiliar too. However, in the past or not, the forest could look different because of youth.

Did he travel back to the past or not? If so, what time period was it? Mitch needed to investigate again. He needed to find someone. A player or a villager. Mitch observed the area again and spotted no one but the pig. However, he caught sight of a mountain. It was opposing the forest side and not too far away. It was small, but it would do. Mitch checked himself, seeing that he had his supplies and sword.

"Later, Jeffery." Mitch said to the pig, who responded with a confused snort. The player walked towards the mountain. His first few steps were unstable and slow, probably as a result of the lag. Soon, Mitch had full balance of himself and journeyed with ease. When he arrived to the extreme hill, he started the climb up. He was glad that the mountain was already searched by another player, stairs mined and placed into its sides. He climbed without much obstacles and struggles.

Mitch soon found himself high on the mountain. He looked down and saw the ground was not fogged up yet. He then looked ahead. He was about to shape his hands into binoculars, but found that there was no need to deeply examine the landscape.

"Holy shhhh…" Mitch trailed off and let his eyes to the surprised talking. Ahead, the world was messed up. There were craters sloppily scribed into the ground and fires running loose. Trees and grass were burning, only a few plant life untouched. There were houses built in random places. However, they were destroyed and burning as well.

"What the hell happened here?" Mitch questioned. Well, whatever happened, it was not helping Mitch determine his location and time period. Heck, the time pearl could have even sent him to the future in a post-apocalyptic Minecraft world.

Not far from the mountain, he spotted a small village, its houses destroyed as well. At first, it was not a unique snowflake for Mitch. Then he noticed tiny, animated figures within the village. There was life there! It was the best place to head over to for answers for now. Mitch went down the mountain. When he reached the ground, he took a deep breath, and walked to the village.

The trek across the plains was exhausting. Mitch already ate four steaks from his food supply. He also had to wrestle with a handful of creepers. The surroundings were not pleasant sights. They actually looked more haunting up close. It was like BajanCanadian's walk to Seto's last night (or maybe pre-night, if this was the past). The only thing he had not encounter was an out-of-the-blue voice. However, a voice's absences made Mitch even more frightened and cautious.

He was elated when he arrived to the village. It was around early afternoon when he arrived.

The first thing that caught his attention were the buildings. Like what he saw in the mountain, the village was destroyed. Each building presented their own unique history of creeper explosions and zombie break-ins. Mitch came to realize how quiet the village was. He scanned the area and saw only a handful of villagers. Some were hiding and shivering in their houses as if no one could see them through the blown holes. The ones who were out did not saw a word or give eye contact. Mitch already had a theory that hostile mobs traumatized the village. Well, at least this village did not look rude. It could be more helpful that the unwelcoming village where Mitch encountered Sky and Seto.

Mitch followed the village's only full gravel path. Some villagers stepped back from the presence of Mitch fearfully. Mitch did not know why they were scared of him. However, his concerns over the villagers were pushed aside when he noticed something else.

Besides the gravel path were two teenage girls. They both were identical by their long hair, blouses, short shorts, big eyes, and pale skin. The major different between them was that one had neon blue hair, eyes and clothes while the other girl was hot pink. Both were building a house out of wooden planks, not noticing BajanCanadian. Noticing them closer, he saw that the girls' movements were not as smooth and natural as Mitch's. It was like they were living in a classic, 8-bit style.

At an abrupt stop from building, the blue one announced, "Millie, we ran out of wood." Even her voice sounded rough and robot-like. There was also a hint of the nasal accent of a villager in her voice.

"Me too." The pink one sighed, her voice so high-pitched and soft that it belonged to a kitten. However, her voice was still unnaturally rough and villager-like. "The closest remaining forest is too far away though. We can't get enough wood before the sun sets."

The neon blue girl nodded in agreement. Then she looked up and spotted Mitch, who was still spectating.

Straightening her back up with hope, she called out, "Hey, you? Do you have any wooden planks we could borrow?"

Mitch realized that he did have wood in his supplies. He rummaged through his inventory and discovered he had two full stacks. He pulled out one stack and presented it to the two girls.

"Two full stacks." Mitch replied. Then he brought the stack he was holding closer to his chest. "But what's in it for me?" He did not what to benefit any strangers generously. The two girls looked at each other. They exchanged mumbles and shrugs. Then the pink one looked at Mitch.

"You can stay in our house for the night." She offered. "You know how aggressive life is these days. It'll be a nightmare for someone left out in the dark." Mitch looked around the village, recalling the destruction. Were mobs extremely hostile in the past, or was that just a unique aspect of a present day area? Either way, it was best if Mitch survived. He turned back to the girls.

"Deal." He replied. Mitch pulled out his two stacks of wooden planks, divided them into three groups, and he and the girls continued constructing the house.

"Name's Lightning." The neon blue girl said as they built.

"Millie." The pink one purred coarsely. "What's your name?"

"Umm…BC." Mitch hesitantly and tensely replied. Until he found out where and when he was, Mitch would assume he was in the past. He would not give too much information, or something could go wrong. BC, the initials of BajanCanadian, was an easy alias to memorize.

"Thanks for the wood, BC." Lightning replied, giving Mitch a tomboyish nudge on the arm. Mitch silently choked back a gasp. For some reason, when Lightning touched him, she felt like static and hard, rough fur. It sent a small shock in Mitch. He did not want to seem rude to the strange girls. However, Lightning took a step back, a confused, slightly suspicious look on her face. She must had experienced the same thing. However, she shrugged it off. Mitch decided to ignore that too.

She and Millie resumed building the house in silence. After placing a few blocks on the wall, Mitch decided to start a conversation. He had not had a proper one over since the time alter and needed his sanity refreshed. What could go wrong? He intended it to be a friendly talk, with some attempts to get clues for his situation.

"So, why are you two moving into this…village?" Mitch began. "Didn't you already have a home?" Lightning looked up from her work. With an eye roll and a sigh, she answered, "Our old home's gone. It's been crazy for the last few days for us. For all living things here." She gestured to the village and the ruined plains beyond.

"I'm surprised that isn't obvious for you." She added with a chuckle. "Anyways, about moving into the village. Millie and I decided we might as well retire as villagers and die on our last lives with no traces of our past."

"Last what?" Mitch looked up, pausing from his work. His mind was already preparing for another storm of confusion, but curiosity had another plan.

"Last lives." Millie said. "Don't you remember the big news? The fights? Anything?" She ended that with a chuckle of disbelief.

"Umm, no." Mitch mused of an excuse for his lack of knowledge quickly. "I…just got out from a cave. I've been searching for diamonds in the dark for days. I haven't talked to anyone for a while. When I came back out to the open, the land surprised me."

"Oh, so you don't know anything?" Millie asked.

"Yeah. I guess." Mitch added a small laugh.

"All right, we'll tell you everything then. Story time." Lightning chuckled. She slowly placed a few wooden planks on an unfinished wall as she thought.

"OK," she began with her rather disturbing, scratchy voice. "Well, Minecraft's changed and still is. For the last few days, some people got corrupted and are threatening this world. Yeah, there are grievers and trolls, but these corrupted ones were really bad. No one knows when the corruption started, maybe a bug or virus, but it comes to people unexpectedly."

"For instance, what might seem good may actually lead someone to do bad things." Millie added. Mitch nodded, showing that he understood, sort of. However, he felt some disappointment form in his heart. The corrupted Minecraft thing sounded like a conflict the future would have. Not the past nor the present.

Lightning looked at Millie. It looked like she wanted her friend to tell the next part of the story. The hot pink girl nodded.

"For the miners and builders who weren't corrupted yet," Mille continued. "They had enough of the actions of the corruption. Some fought back. Some rage quitted. Overall, there was war. No one knew which side would win, but there was alot of damage put into this world." Like Lightning, she gestured to the destroyed village and landscape.

"That's when Notch came in." She said. "He knew the only way to stop the corruption and war was to kill us all, even the non-corrupted. He took away our ability to respawn a few days ago. He's replacing us with a new, stronger generation of people called players. He's updating Minecraft.

"But…it just made the conflict worse. The current, remaining people are more divided. Some, like us, are settling down on our last lives. The others are rebelling like crazy."

"Oh." Mitch said in awe. "So, about the respawn thing: the next time we die, it's all over?" Lightning and Millie gave slow nods. _So_ _Game Over. GG…or maybe not._

"You know." Lightning began with a chuckle. "Millie and I used to be rebels against Notch. But after an…incidence…most of the rebels changed their minds. Right, Millie?"

"Yeah…" The hot pink girl answered, placing another wooden plank down slowly.

"What made you change your minds?" Mitch asked, resuming placing blocks on an incomplete wall. There was a moment of silence as Mitch expected an answer. Finally, Lightning answered.

"…Herobrine." She said hesitantly. Mitch jerked up, dropping a wooden plank.

"Wait, Herobrine? As in, _the _Herobrine." Mitch gasped. "What did he do?"

"Herobrine was a strong rebel." Lightning began. "He loathed Notch's decision to abandon the ones who tested Minecraft for him. Since he was the best miner in Minecraft, he had many adherents for the rebellion." She was talking about Herobrine the living miner, not Herobrine the monster. But it was still interesting.

"Herobrine died in the Nether two days ago, BC." Lightning continued with a hint of sadness. "He wanted to prove Notch his strength and died trying. Or, as the second variation of the story goes, he died from corruption. Very bad corruption."

"With the biggest inspiration of rebels gone, it sent a sense of fear and doubt across Minecraft. Thus, the rebellion decreased." Millie concluded with a sadness that matched Lightning's. "Herobrine was a good person and idol. But now he's gone."

Herobrine recently dead? A new generation of players? Mitch felt hope spark. Maybe he was in the past after all! Lightning and Millie continued building the house in silence.

"OK, one more question." Mitch said, trying to contain his enthusiasm. "Do you know where the new generation of players are?" Lightning looked back at BajanCandian. Then her blue eyes looked the sky as she mused.

"Well, I don't think Notch will make them start in this messed up world." Lightning began, some humor returning. "I've heard that Notch's making a whole new world for the next update and players. He's cut off most of this world's transportation, so we can't go to others servers and worlds like the new one. I've also heard that he's almost done creating the new generation. The universe would be updated in five days. The new players would be left on their own and Notch would leave the world be after that.

"But that's all we know, really. We don't really understand much." Millie said. Lightning nodded an agreement.

"Oh, ok." Mitch replied. He had nothing else to say. It was not because he was confused again. It seemed that his brain finally constructed an impenetrable structure for his focus to thrive in. Mitch felt satisfied. He felt like the time alter was already stopped.

Mitch, Lightning, and Millie continued to build their house. Millie started up a new, more gregarious conversation as they built. All three players exchanged jokes and comments. Mitch was happy for the first time ever since the time alter. The fun reminded him of his own friends' company. However, the thought of his friends did not sadden him this time. In fact, it just made Mitch secretly more determined to finish his quest.

"Done." Lightning exclaimed as she placed a door on the complete house. The house was a decent size, able to fit about ten players. The house was completed just in time. The sun had just set.

Millie crafted three beds. Two were placed on one side of the house while the last one on the other side. After exchanging goodnights, she and Lightning retreated to the two beds on one side. They immediately feel fast asleep. They must had been worn about like Seto when Mitch last saw him.

Mitch, however, did not sleep. Well, there was a hint of the rare tiredness sinking down his energy. However, his excitement fought back. Mitch decided not to sleep no matter what, now that he discovered he was in the past. Beds would reset his spawn point. He did not know what would happen if he dies and respawns in an abnormal time era and location. Until he stopped the time alter, Mitch would not sleep. The nights were going to be really long.

Looking through a window besides his bed, seeing the moon rise, Mitch thought about the positives of his task. Lightning and Millie confirmed that Mitch was in the past. The time pearl worked! _It worked! Oh, Seto! You. Are. A. Genius!_

According to the girls, the new generation of players would be fully introduce to the game five days from now. Mitch knew that he was among those new players, remembering his own past. They were foggy memories, but Mitch knew that he was in the new generation.

Mitch had a feeling that he came earlier before the trigger of the time alter happened. He had no idea how the time pearl sent him to his wanted time period. Maybe it was some kind of follow you destiny, believe in your heart, or something like that.

He had at least five days to investigate and identify the time alter. After the fifth day, Minecraft would update, and the time alter might come with the update. Mitch wondered if he would also find out who caused the time alter. However, the important matter was that he stopped the time alter, fix the past, and return to his preferred present.

On that note, Mitch jerked up, realizing something terrible. The second time pearl! He did not bring it with him! He did not grab it because of the unusual break-in at Seto's house. Mitch silently growled in frustration, hitting himself in the forehead. _Damn it!_ How was he supposed to return home without the second time pearl?! If he did fix time, the effort would be worthless if he could not enjoy the outcome at the end.

He stomped his foot. _I'm so stupid! As stupid as Jerome. Maybe even stupider_, he thought to himself. Mitch should have never went back to the past! Adapting to his new present life could have been much easier, safer, and smarter!

He looked down, a hand covering his eyes. He sat down on his bed. He closed his eyes hard and mentally tried to fight off the negative thoughts. Mitch took a deep breath and thought. He remembered this was not his first time doubting himself and his quest. He thought about turning back at Seto's house, but talked himself out of it. The BajanCanadian got himself into this mess; he was going to get himself out. Mitch experienced that situation many times in the Hunger Games. That was who he was: Benja who fights in the Hunger Games. He was not a grieved n00b. Mitch would not give in so soon. Maybe he could find out how to craft a time pearl on his own. Who knew? Maybe if the time alter was stopped, that would stop future Mitch from travelling to the past. Mitch could probably find himself suddenly back in the present after stopping the time alter.

Stop the time alter. Stop the time alter. That was Mitch's main goal. He would begin investigating when morning comes. No matter what obstacles and doubts he would face, Mitch had to stop the time alter. He also made a mental note that next time he was on a serious mission, he would always think twice.

Mitch heard a loud growl outside. He perked up, his sleepiness and negativity scared out of his system. Outside, he saw several dark figures at the borders of the village. The growls evolved into audible chants and yells. Mitch realized that the figures were armed humans, their movements similar to Lightning and Millie's. They were not aiming for the village, for now maybe. They were fighting each other! Even though Mitch could not see them well, he imagined their fight to be more horrid than the Hunger Games. Lightning did said that people were divided at had war between each other.

Watching the angry fight, Mitch recalled the incident at Seto's house. For some reason, the fight reminded Mitch of the crazy diamond sword that sawed down the iron door. Who did that anyways? How? Why? Another thought formed in Mitch's mind. Maybe the mysterious person with the diamond sword was trying to stop Mitch from going to the past. Maybe the same guy who caused the time alter. Maybe even the guy who whispered "don't do this".

Wow, so many questions now. They were not like the confusing aspects Mitch experienced in the present from his friends. However, he could not help wonder about who was against him and wanted to change his life…


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft. I do not own the YouTubers either. I do own the OCs (Lightning, Millie, Jake, and ?) though.**

**Sorry for the delay. This chapter felt a bit slow and too long for me. Anyways, constructive criticism appreciated! (…I don't say much, don't I? Maybe I should make a longer Author's Note next time.)**

A day ago…or one day in the future, Mitch wanted the night to come to steal an untested time pearl. Now, the BajanCanadian was greedily waiting for morning to arrive in a destroyed village. Longing the sun to come was more torturous than longing the moon. He did not remember how many days were in an Earth week. However, he was positive that waiting for the sun had stretched out to not only an Earth day, but an Earth week. He was a positive as he was when he first thought of the time traveling being the key to his problem.

Overall, Mitch did nothing but observe the night sky for movement. It would be a pleasure to sleep the hours down, but Mitch already restricted himself, sadly. The fight in the distant died off. Its remaining people walked away from the village. Mitch should be glad that the fight would not be brought to the village. However, staring at violence killed time faster than staring at space. There were some zombies and creepers that stalked around later in the night. Mitch wished he could see them. However, he could not risk being spotted, especially when the past seemed rather hellish. Mitch ended up ducking out of the window's view to hide from monsters.

Mitch would trade places with a present-day, struggling n00b to get out of this long wait. This was painfully taking too long. In fact, Mitch could feel his right eye twitch with insanity and impatience every now and then.

Mitch felt like the time alter had already been stopped when he saw orange and red rise from the horizon. The dark hues of night were chased away by the sun. BajanCanadian needed to thank the sunrise. Not for its beauty, but for its announcement that a new day has arrived. Mitch heard chickens cluck and doors open in the village. They were almost music to his ears.

Mitch let out a long yawn. He realized that there was some wariness clinging onto his strength. It felt...strange. Mitch barely experienced tiredness. He did not know what to expect. However, the tiredness was not a parasite to his energy, yet. At least it would not get Lightning and Millie suspicious, or affect Mitch's mission. Mitch hoped that the wariness would grow slowly. He could not sleep until the time alter was stopped. He knew it would take days to succeed.

BajanCanadian silently washed his face with water, which he had in his inventory. It somewhat weakened his exhaustion, but not completely. After stuffing his bucket of water back into his supplies, Mitch heard arousing. At first, he slightly jumped. But when he remembered the two girls that he helped, he relaxed.

"...morning." Millie yawned with her strange, hoarse purr. Mitch turned around and saw the hot pink girl stretching her arms. After stretching, she got up swiftly and approached a chest.

Lightning also aroused from her bed.

"Good morning, BC." She lazily mumbled. "Slept well?"

"Umm...yeah, I guess." Mitch answered. He did not pause from lying. He hesitated because he was confused why the neon blue chick called him "BC". Moments after he answered, he recalled that it was his alias. He silently experienced the wave of realization as he and Lightning got up. They both approached Millie, who had her hands filled with food.

"Breakfast." Millie announced. She tossed an apple to Mitch. His hands caught it without his instincts. Millie tossed another apple to Lightning. Mitch shrugged and took a bite of the apple. He suddenly realized that all of that waiting made him ravenous. He dug into the fruit. Its taste and juice woke him up more than washing his face, but still not enough. However, it still was not a big deal.

"So," Lightning began after eating her breakfast. "A new day, as a villager." That sentence ended with some disappointment. Millie, who was eating her own apple, shrugged. Lightning looked at Mitch.

"You know, I haven't wondered this before." She said, curiosity replacing negativity. "What are planning to do now, BC? For the first time, I don't imagine you staying here with us. We just let you in for the wood." She took another bite of her apple, waiting for an answer.

Mitch paused from chewing, musing. He needed to come up with another excuse. Well, he now knew that if he was going to keep a low profile, he had to be like Lightning and Millie's..."kind". The girls were not players. They were testificates that looked like prototype players. Non-players who could not respawn and fighting each other.

"Well, now that I know that we can't respawn," Mitch began, recalling how he pretended to be unaware of the current news when he first met the girls. "...I guess I'll be...enjoying this last life as much as I can." He concluded with an innocent shrug.

Millie tilted her head to the right. "So, you're leaving the village?" She asked. Mitch nodded. He was glad that his lies were flowing smoothly.

"Leaving today?" Lightning questioned.

"Maybe right after breakfast." Mitch replied. He then finished his apple. Millie handed him another one.

"Oh, OK," The neon blue girl responded slowly. She then returned her attention to her breakfast. Millie, however, resumed keeping the conversation alive.

"Any goals for your last life?" She asked curiously. Mitch shrugged, saying, "Don't have anything planned yet." _Except looking for clues to stop the time alter._

"No goals?" Lightning repeated, joining the discussion again. "It's a final life, and you don't immediately have plans?" She gave out a playful chuckle. "You're wierd. I sometimes feel that —"

Her blue eyes suddenly widen and her mouth closed. When her eye then shut tight, she quickly facepalmed and loudly groaned, like she had a brainfreeze. Her movements were so quick, it was hard to notice her 8-bit-like style.

Mitch jumped back, horror appearing on his face. He had experienced weirdness and curiosity. He rarely experienced fear, notably presented with the "don't do this" voice and the distant fight last night. What was going on with Lightning? Did Mitch do something to her?

Millie reacted like Mitch, scared. Then she put a hand on Lightning's back. Lightning gave out another painful hiss.

"Lightning, what's wrong?" Millie asked, concern speckled all over her words. Mitch remained still, not daring to move.

Finally, after another round of groaning, Lightning sighed in relief. Mitch and Millie also calmed down. Lightning removed her hand out of her face and opened her eyes.

"Sorry. I just...suddenly got a headache for some reason." She said, exhaling another heavy sigh. Mitch's frightened face turned to suspicion, eyebrow raised up and head tilted to the left. There was something strange with Lightning's right eye. The bright blue made it almost obvious to spot. There seemed to be dull red dots in her eye. The dots looked like redstone dust. BajanCanadian swore that the redness was not in her eyes before.

"You want to rest?" Millie offered, still concerned and worried. Mitch wondered if Millie spotted the red dots. However, she was at Lightning's left side. It was less likely.

After a pause, Lightning nodded. She turned around and walked back to the beds. Her head looked down to her feet as she walked.

Millie and Mitch exchanged glances. There was no suspicion in Millie's eyes. Mitch assumed that only he noticed Lightning's right eye. For some reason, Mitch's suspicion was growing. Something was fishy. Fishy...

"So, Millie." Mitch began. "Like I said before, I'm not exactly on the same page as you and Lightning. I didn't knew about the respawn, Notch, and Herobrine. Is there anything else I should know? Like anything that I should watch my back for, when I leave." He discovered that he was in the past thanks to Lightning and Millie. Maybe the girls could also help by giving clues of the time alter.

Millie raised an eyebrow. Maybe she was surprised Mitch changed the subject from Lightning's pain to Minecraft so easily. Mitch tried his best to look innocent. Millie then looked up, thinking.

"Well, there were these...things...that we noticed when Lightning and I were heading to this village." She softly began. Mitch could not help but slightly lean over closer.

"For some reason, we felt like we were being followed." She continued. "Lightning told me that she spotted a man wearing a green shirt and blue pants. But, of course, she could be trying to scare me." Millie chuckled.

_Herobrine,_ Mitch thought. Herobrine the spirit already haunting Minecraft. Mitch mentally shrugged. Herobrine was Herobrine. He would haunt the world and people. Nothing new for Mitch.

"Also," Millie added. Mitch jumped out of his own thoughts, heart pounding. There was more! "I had my own sightings during the trip." She said that as if she was proud to spot a suspenseful element.

"On the day we got here, I thought I saw something...someone...in the distant." Millie said. "He looked like an average miner, but I didn't see any exact details. He was wearing a cloak over himself. But, when I saw him, he looked like he was sprinting to get out of the forest as fast as possible. He didn't saw me though."

Mitch's mind sparked. Now this was interesting! It could possible serve Mitch's investigation.

Millie remained silent.

"That's all?" Mitch asked. Millie nodded. Disappointed did not take over yet. At least he had a possible clue. He would ask the villagers later.

"Thanks again for helping us finished this house." Millie said. It had now past an hour. Mitch had announced it was time for him to leave.

"Yeah...thank you." Lightning replied shyly. She had joined Millie in saying goodbyes. However, her behavior turned from tomboyish to shy. Her coyness was even softer than Millie's neutral purr. However, Millie and Mitch did not concern over the change. Mitch thought Lightning was taking it easy for herself. Her unsteadiness as she stood made Mitch thought her migraine was still there.

"You're welcome. Thanks for letting me stay last night." Mitch replied to the girls as he double-checked his supplies and armor. "Oh, and I won't leave the village, yet. I'm gonna trade with some villagers before leaving. But try not to bother me." He did not want his acquaintances to see him asking weird question to villagers, secretly.

"Oh, OK. That's fine. Anyways, goodbye. We'll miss you." Millie replied.

"Yeah...have fun...with your adventure?" Lightning added awkwardly.

With a final nod and wave, Mitch left the girls' house. He looked to see them, waving out the window. Lightning's wave was hesitant and weak compared to Millie's confident one. Then he looked away. Hopefully, he did not leave anything to arouse suspicion in the house...

Mitch began to interview the villagers, starting with the first one he spotted. That villager was staring at a pile of un possessed items floating on the gravel path. Mitch then recalled the unknown people fighting last night. It took place in that same spot. Those fallen items must on belong to someone, who would never respawn again.

The villager was actually rummaging through the items. He would picked up, observe it, and put it in his inventory or back in the pile. He was now observing a pair of dark sunglasses. He actually placed it over his own eyes to test them. He looked around studying the sky.

"Hey, dood." Mitch said to the villager when he was finally close enough. Well, he said that when the villager was focused on his shades.

The villager shrieked and turned to face Mitch. The villager raised his arms up in surrender. The shades fell off his face.

"There's a pile of stuff! Take whatever you want! Just don't hurt me!"

Mitch stared at the big-nosed citizen, dumbfounded. The villager was starting to shake in fear. Mitch realized he had no time to lose. He had four days until the new update the girls mentioned comes.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you." Mitch began. He tucked his sword away for assurance. "I just need your help."

"You're not gonna hurt me? Do you're one of them who still cares for us?" The villager still kept his frightened tone and jumpy mood.

"Have you seen anything suspicious? Anything someone should watch out for?" Mitch jumped right into questioning. The villager momentarily stopped shuddering, putting his arms done.

"Suspicious? Watch out for?" The villager repeated with a new assertive tone. "Boy, you don't know what it's like to be a villager these days. Hiding from zombies and people all the time! These days, everything is scary! Nothing's suspicious or dangerous anymore. Just horrible!" His tone had transformed to fright once again.

"Well, is there anything that stood out for you? Something not averagely...scary?" Mitch attempted to adapt and shape his question for the villager. Anything to get an actual, notable answer.

"I...I," The villager stuttered, shuddering in fear again. Then he lost it. He ran off, crying in fear.

"No, wait!" Mitch shouted, but fighting to start chasing the villager down. He was used to start running after someone who chickened out in the Hunger Games. But that would traumatize the villager even more.

Mitch looked down in defeat. _Oh well. It's just one villager. I'll ask another._ But if the whole village was on the same page as that villager...

The BajanCanadian's brown eyes laid on the sunglasses. The sunglass the villager was looking through. They looked somewhat like SSundee and Sky's glasses, but a shorter height and more solid lens. Mitch had to admit, they looked cool. He could not help but pick it up and put them on his face, just for a look. He looked around. To his surprise, it was like they were not even on. The dark shades did not darken Mitch's view. He could see clearly.

His observations turned to a small pond. He was amazed how clear the water was. It was so blue and clear, he could see a...wait a second...

Mitch removed the shades, still looking at the pond. It was still as clean as it was. However, at the edge of it was a pale, rough ball. That was what caught Mitch's attention.

Mitch tucked the sunglasses into his inventory. He rolled up his sleeve and fished the mysterious item out of the water.

The item looked more like an egg, except wider and had rougher edges. It was soggy. Mitch discovered that it was a crumbled up paper. Curious, Mitch tried to un-crumble and flatten it. He did it elegantly and slowly, not wanting to tear the wet paper apart. He tried his best to keep his shadow off the mess, hoping drying in the sun would help.

However, he could not waste time. He needed to question the other villagers. Then again, what was this piece of paper? Mitch ended up doing two tasks at once. He would go around and talk with the villagers. At the same time, his hands worked with the paper as if it were a Rubik's cube.

At the end, Mitch met two old friends: disappointment and hope. The village knew nothing useful. BajanCanadian asked every villager, sometimes asking the same one twice. Some where as nervous as the first villager. That was when Mitch met disappointment. Then again, it was just one village. He had to encounter decent information later. Mitch was slightly positive about that. Hope came to prove that his prediction was correct.

Mitch successfully flattened out the wrinkled paper. It was written on, but more of the paper was covered with ink smears. However, the cleanest letters on the paper caught Mitch's attention. On the top center was printed a slightly blurry _RITFAS_.

_RITFAS_, BajanCanadian said in his mind. _R-I-T-F-A-S. RITFAS. Rit-fas. Ritfas, breakfast. Ritfas, hashtag. Hashtag ritfas. RITFAS_. Mitch abruptly ended his thoughts. He was getting off-track. In reality, though, Mitch felt like this strange word had a purpose. Maybe it was not even a word. It could be a password, a name. Whatever it was, Mitch felt like it was a vital key in his mission. RITFAS...what did that mean?

Mitch tucked the now flat piece of paper into his inventory. He was now done with this village. Time to move on. He still needed to find more information. He had no clue what the time alter was, when it was going to happen, and how to stop it. He hoped that he will succeed in time.

Mitch arrived to the edge of the village. He was already observing the beyond. In the distant, there was a mountain. It was not the same mountain from yesterday and was much further away. Going to the last mountain would be quicker. However, BajanCanadian felt that returning to that mountain would just lead him back to square one.

With a deep breath, Mitch began yet another long trek. He left the village, not giving it a final look. After traveling a decent distance, Mitch stopped. The next thing that caught his attention was a pig. A pig wearing a saddle...and a courier hat. A blue hat with a chicken nugget butter pin on it.

"Oh, my god!" Mitch exclaimed, putting his arms out towards the pig, as if gesturing to someone. "It's a pig with a hat!" He could not help but smile. The Jeffery looked adorable!

The pig made eye contact, giving out a snort. Mitch's smile weakened, spotting something in Jeffery's mouth. It was another piece of paper, scrolled this time.

"What do you have there, Jeffery?" Mitch asked, reaching out for the paper. When he grabbed it, he tugged it. However, it was difficult to pull out of Jeffery's mouth. In fact, Jeffery let out a threatening squeal and tightened his grasp on the scroll. Mitch sighed, rolling his eyes. He pulled out a carrot from his supplies and offered it to the pig. A few seconds later, they traded. The pig began to munch on his snack.

"What's with paper being everywhere I go?" Mitch questioned. Might as well open the scroll to read it. Before he did that, though, his attention turned to the beyond. In the distance, he saw arrows pierced into the grassy ground and items. Mitch already had an inference that someone died on that spot. Mitch could not help but look at the sky, wondering what happened to those who died on their last life.

Finally, he returned his focus to the new paper. He rolled it out. It had clear wording. Complete sentences that did not have smeared words. It was a letter.

"Dear Jake,

Thank you for your help with our side project. Thank you also for promising not to tell anyone about the meeting. If the older generation finds out that some of them are getting their respawn back, it is going to be more crazy. You were friends with Herobrine. You knew how terrible the fights were.

Anyways, back to the topic of respawning. An elite team of mine finally created the portal out of your world. You can use to portal to enter into the new world we have been working on. Notch can give you back your respawning and a place to stay. By the way, Notch is also looking for someone with Minecraft experience. He is thinking of motivating the new players with an older one. Maybe you can spare a few words

Notch expects all of the chosen miners within three days. The portal will close on the third day. This letter contains a map that will lead you to the portal.

We all look forward for your return."

Mitch looked up from the letter. Optimism sparked in him again. He turned the paper over to see a colorful map of a world. Red ink marked certain landscapes. On the top left corner, the red ink shaped a star and the word "the portal!". Those marks were on top of a pickaxe-shaped mountain chain. Mitch located his location on the map. He was not far from the mountain chain.

Mitch smiled again. A wave of realization hit him. If he was supposed to stop a time alter, he should find it, not find out what it was! All he had been thinking about was time, not location. There was a difference between where the time alter will occur to how many days left to find out what, not where. Of course, Mitch knew something for a fact. The time alter had to occur where past Mitch would be. The time alter would have to separate past Mitch from his friends. BajanCanadian needed to find his younger self and protect him from the mysterious time alter. Of course, young Mitch would be with the other players, in the new world. And Mitch had the map to it!

Jake, the person who was supposed to get the letter, must have sadly died. That might explain the arrows and loose items Mitch saw. But that did not matter. Mitch had to find the new place. He did not have to stop the time alter. He could simply just protect his younger self from it. He was elated he found this messenger Jeffery. This mission was easier than he thought. Too easy...

Mitch double thought of his next plan. He was positive it was foolproof. It was official. He decided to get to this portal as soon as possible. Mitch looked at the courier pig, who finished his carrot and looked innocently back. Mitch smiled, petting the pig on the head. He pulled out another carrot and a fishing pole out of his inventory. He attached the two together and got on Jeffery's saddle. He put the carrot on a stick in front of the pig.

"Come on! Let's go!" Mitch cried out victoriously. Jeffery squealed with glee and started sprinting Mitch's direction, to the portal...

Mitch rode away from the village and plains. Hills were starting to form. He enjoyed the wind blowing at his face and brown hair. It was almost perfect, until Mitch spotted something.

Mitch lifted up the carrot, making Jeffery stop abruptly, trying to reach for the carrot with his head. Mitch looked at the top of a hill, noticing someone at the distance. It was Herobrine, looking directly back.

If this past were his present, Mitvh would feel uncomfortable about Herobrine as a ghost. However, Mitch was familiar with the haunting stare. But, something was itching inside. What was Herobrine doing? What did he want? Was he going to attack?

To Mitch's surprise, Herobrine simply crossed his arms, turned around, and walked away. Mitch and Jeffery were left alone.

_That's it?_ Mitch thought. _No attacking? No anything?_ He had seen his friends' strange, new behavior. However, Herobrine took it to another level. And Mitch did not even know why the strange change. The time alter did not happen yet.

At the end, Mitch shrugged it off. He did not know Herobrine's feelings in his early haunting years. Maybe the newly-made ghost was somewhat hesitant to harm other yet. Mitch decided it was best to continue, incase the ghost does come back...

One and a half days passed. A cute pig was lost, tragically. Some food and other supplies were used. Mitch had arrived to his destination.

BajanCanadian found himself cautiously walking by a long extreme hill. He assumed that it was the "stick" of the pickaxe-shaped mountain. His heart pumped. He was so close to the portal! However, Mitch had difficulties finding it. The map now looked complex. Mitch felt worry biting his confidence. Would he ever find the - ?

Mitch heard the rustling of a bush. He gasped and looked around. No person or mob was in sight. He heard footsteps. The same gasp and search process repeated itself. Was he followed?

Then, Mitch heard the sound of stone being mined. He turned around, facing the mountains, and his eyes widened. A person was mining the mountain. The person had a cloak covering most of his/her body. The miner's arms were rough and unnatural, like Lightning and Millie's movements. Speaking of the girls, did Millie said something about seeing a cloaked person?

Mitch was paralyzed until the stranger stopped mining. The stranger stopped because he/she uncovered a dark tunnel after removing the stone wall. A passageway?

"What-what are you doing?" Mitch asked. He did not mean to say it outloud, but somehow, it came out. The cloaked person perked up in shot. The stranger quickly turned to face Mitch, surprised. With a gasp, the person broke the short gaze and dashed into the tunnel.

"No! Wait!" Mitch yelled, again, not planned. He sprinted after the person. He did not catch most of the stranger's physical features. However, he concluded that the stranger was a male. Though lacking detail, Mitch could generalize the stranger's face. He looked so much like Seto, actually. He had the same brown hair. However, Mitch did noticed that the stranger was much older, like in his middle age, and had bright green eyes.

Anyways, Mitch continued his pursuit after the new person. All intelligent and worry were put aside. Curiosity and urge took over.

Eventually, the tunnel ended. At the end was...a pool of water, shining bright. No glowstone or redstone were responsible for the glow. Along with the shine, blue sparkles danced in the pool. The stranger slowed his sprint. Mitch did not.

"Hey! I just want to ask questions!" Mitch blurted out. "Who are you? What are you doing?!"

The stranger looked back at BajanCanadian. Irritation was written in his green eyes. "Leave me alone! Keep your corruptness to yourself and this world!" He hissed. His voice matched the voice that belonged to a cranky business man. With that, the stranger looked back to the pool, and jumped in. He vaporized to thin air when he came in contact with the water.

Mitch gasped. He tried to skid to a halt. However, at the end, he tripped over himself. He collapsed and was heading into the pool. He gasped again. What was the water going to do to him? Then he splashed into the water. No, he did not splash. It felt like he just when through, the force not interacting to his body. It felt like...going through a portal...


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Minecraft. I do not own the YouTubers either. I do own the OC (who you will find out soon) though.**

**(You can skip this Author's Note if you want. It's not really important.)**

**That feeling when it gets harder and harder to write the next chapter. This chapter was not easy to complete.**

**Well, anyways, hey guys! I said I was going to try a longer Author's Note in the last chapter, so here we go. First off, here's chapter six! This story is actually halfway done :D**

**Also, thank you all who have followed, favorited and reviewed so far! I appreciate your feedback :) *gives cookies* On that note, do you know how I put "Constructive critism appreciate!" before each ****chapter starts? I am really looking for suggestions and stuff like that to improve.**

**If you like this fanfiction, tell me why you like it. If you don't like it or something, tell me why. I'm mostly looking for critiques relating to the story's plot, ****the length, the speed, and how much suspense it gives you, the reader.**

**Of course, this is not a requirement. I'm fine if you simply follow, favorite or review if you want to.**

**Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!**

Mitch saw a flash of crystal blue. Then his view resumed to stony walls, like the cave. However, he was still falling, as if he was teleported to the ceiling. He could not help but scream. It was a not a long fall to the ground, but it was not short either.

As he fell, Mitch saw the stranger he met already on the stone ground. The stranger was not standing up, probably because of falling as well. He was getting up though, rubbing his head. As he recovered, the stranger looked up, the action triggered by Mitch's scream. The miner's green eyes widen. He was about to gasp again, but Mitch crashed onto him before a breath could come out.

"Ow..." They both groaned in unison. That was true, actually. Mitch was in pain. Landing on the stranger broke his fall. However, they were not from the same time. Like with Lightning, Mitch felt fuzzy static when in contact with the stranger. However, Lightning just gave him a punch. Falling on the stranger was like falling into a pit of cacti and uncontrolled electricity. It hurt!

After a moment, Mitch finally got the strength to roll himself off the other person. Well, without the stranger's pushing him - carefully using his fingers to roll Mitch off, probably to avoid more shock - Mitch could not move himself off successfully.

They both slowly sat up and brushed any dust off their clothes. No words were exchanged. It was as if the chase never happened.

"Oh, what was I thinking?" The stranger finally sighed. Strangely, the tone was not hostile, yet...dangerous at the same time. "I should have been more careful and acted normal. If I did, you wouldn't have followed me." He added a half-hearted chuckle that later died in awkwardness. "Well, you're gonna end up getting yourself in trouble soon. You're outnumbered here." The stranger got up and fixed his cloak. Mitch lazily lifted his head up to see the stranger's face again. In the cave, it was difficult to see it. However, Mitch swore he saw aspects of momentary truce, embarrassment, and suspicion combined into one glare in his eyes.

Soon, the stranger turned around and walked away. Mitch did not knew where he was going. However, then he noticed a large source of light at the end of the cave. It was a way out, but it did not look like the entrance the stranger mined out. In looked like an actual, naturally-made entrance to a cave.

And the world outside definitely looked different. It was not the quiet, grassy biome that the pickaxe-shaped mountains stood on. It looked more like the entrance out of a ravine. He recalled the mysterious water. It had to be a portal. No, it had to be _the_ portal. The one to the new world where the time alter would happen.

The stranger faded into a silhouette and exited the cave. Mitch finally got his strength back and stood up. He was on a mission. He could not waste time.

BajanCanadian started to follow the stranger, though he was now out of Mitch's sight. On a side note, Mitch paused. He had to think. If he was really close to the time alter, he needed to cover his tracks even more. His alias, BC, could not do that alone.

Mitch searched through his inventory, remembering the pair of sunglasses he got from the village. After finding the shades, he put them on. Again, he saw clearly. There was no darker tint over the already dark tunnel. However, Mitch knew the glasses were not the best disguise. He needed more.

As he began walking closer to the entrance again, he wondered what else he would do to disguise himself. When he was a quarter away out of the darkness, he heard a voice.

"Hey. Hey. Hi. Nice shades."

Mitch turned his head to the right and saw a squid. It was in a small pool of normal water, looking up at BajanCanadian.

"I'm a squid." The squid honked proudly. "Nice to meet you."

Mitch got an idea, some of his old, playful self arousing, giving kudos to Sky. He pulled out his diamond sword, a devious grin on his face. He slowly approached the squid. The squid's black eyes now filled with worry.

"No, no! Wait! Please! Don't be like that kid who keeps attacking my friends! Ah!" Mitch killed the squid without second thought. Ink sac replaced the dead squid. Mitch picked those up. He removed his diamond armor and hoodie. He was going to regret this, but hopefully, the deed will be undone when the time alter is stopped. BajanCanadian dyed his hoodie pure black. He covered up the red checkers with the ink. The dye did a decent job, but it ruined the hoodie to Mitch's taste. Well, that was a sacrifice for trying to fix time.

Mitch put his now black hoodie on. Then he put his armor over it. He decided to put the armor on incase something happened.

With his sunglasses, hoodie, and armor on, Mitch continued to walk out of the tunnel. As he walked closer to the exit, the light outside seemed to intensify. The light was strong, but Mitch's sunglasses seemed to amazingly shield his eyes from any pain.

Then Mitch exited the tunnel. He paused in front of the opening, looking around in awe. He was standing in a ravine. The tunnel was probably a cave connected to it. Well, it was defiantly not the pickaxe-shaped mountain Mitch searched the portal at.

Even in the ravine, the scene was breathtaking. It seemed brighter and more alive here. Over the edges of the ravine, it was not the damaged plains Mitch had seen ever since he went back in time. He could see new mountains and fresh landscapes. The air - the atmosphere - smelled like home, Mitch's present.

"There he is!" A voice called. Mitch looked to his left to see two people approaching him. One of them was the stranger he encountered earlier. The other was a completely new person. However, the newer stranger did not move roughly like the stranger, Lightning, and Millie. His movements were like Mitch's, nice and smooth.

Mitch did not move. He was in shock, worried that his cover was blown already. The two men paused in front of Mitch. The cloaked, green-eyed stranger's stern expression shifted to confusion. He tilted his head to the left and had an eyebrow raised, looking at Mitch.

"Where did he get those sun...I thought his hoodie was..." He trailed off, clearly dumbfounded. Then he shook his head and rubbed his right eye. "Must be something in my eye." He concluded. "Or that headache."

"Who are you?" The new stranger queried. His short hair was light brown, the shade of a mushroom. He also had pale blue eyes, glowing with curiosity, and a brown suit.

"My name's BC." Mitch answered. The new stranger rubbed his chin with his hand.

"BC...I don't remember that name from the list they made." The stranger mused.

"I knew he shouldn't be here." The other, cloaked one replied. "But...I lead him here..." His green eyes looked down to the stone floor.

"It's not your fault, Lucky." The stranger in the suit said. He placed a hand on Lucky's shoulder. The cloaked miner did not wince. Mitch thought he would, considering the newer stranger was like Mitch and could shock 8-bit-like Lucky. However, the cloaked miner brushed the hand off his shoulder, as if it did bother him.

"If I was on my last life and being caught trying to get respawning back by someone dangerous, I would do that too." The unnamed stranger added. Then he returned his attention to Mitch.

"BC, where did you come from? I'm pretty sure a person from the old world can't just randomly find the mountain the same time Lucky arrives." He asked Mitch.

Mitch's eyes moved away from the two people. He mentally bit his lower lip, thinking of an excuse.

"Well...coincidences can happen..." He began awkwardly. Then he recalled something. "But, I found this." Mitch pulled out something from his inventory. It was Jake's letter and the map to the portal. He unrolled it and showed it to the two people. The unnamed person and Lucky both leaned toward. Their eyes moved left to right as they skimmed through the letter's words. It was like they could not believe it.

"You found Jake's letter?" The unnamed man gasped in awe. He grabbed it out of Mitch's hand. "How?"

"Found it. I think this Jake guy died before he got the letter. I found a messenger pig with it."

"...Who would kill Jake?" Lucky wondered. "He isn't easy to kill." As he said that, he gave Mitch another suspicious look, as if _he_ killed Jake to get the letter.

After tucking the letter into his suit, the unnamed stranger continued. "Well, anyways, BC. Look, even though you have the letter, the program still only works for who it's really sent too. Lucky's given approval as well as others because Notch picked them. Notch probably doesn't even know your name."

"Why do you have to be so picky about this?" Mitch questioned.

"Like I said," Lucky joined the conversation with an answer. "Some of us are corrupted. Notch and the others can't have that spread into the new world. I was chosen because I was trusted." He ended that sentence with some dominance.

Mitch sighed. "Yeah, yeah. But, I guarantee that I'm not evil. I didn't even knew about the corruption thing until a few days ago. I've been living under a rock...literally. I've been mining on my own when the fights started."

Lucky and the unnamed person exchanged glances.

"I...I can help in this new world Notch is working on." Mitch added, almost visibly desperate. He was so close to the time alter. He needed their trust. "Give a few tips, inspire, blah, blah, blah. You won't regret it."

"I'll ask Notch." The unnamed person responded after looking back at Mitch. "But that doesn't mean 'yes'. Lucky, can you watch him until I get back?" Lucky gave Mitch another observation.

"Well, no one else will." He answered. "Only for the safety of this place." The unnamed person nodded. Then he turned and walked away, heading to a ladder build on a side of the ravine.

Lucky narrowed his eyes as he looked into Mitch's sunglasses. "Even if Notch allows you in, I'm still going to keep my eyes on you. It's hard to trust people these days."

"Heh...I can tell." Mitch replied sheepishly, trying to not sound hostile. His words were actually true. There was something strange about this Lucky guy. Mitch just could not put his finger on it.

"Life is hard back in the old world." Lucky continued. "Real death. Fighting. Migraines..." He paused and rubbed his right eye again. When he looked back up, Mitch caught something strange. Lucky's eye had red tiny spots in them. Just like Lightning's. Mitch's suspicion towards Lucky built another layer of armor.

"I'm glad Notch let me into the new world. I haven't got my respawn yet, but I know he won't forget that promise for the task I did for him." Lucky said. After a moment of silence, he asked, "If Notch trusts you, would he give you respawning back?"

Mitch wondered. That was an excellent thought. Mitch knew he still had the power to respawn. Lucky's kind got theirs removed days before Mitch's arrival. A random thought, but what would happen if Mitch was given another respawning power? How would it feel?

His thoughts were stopped by the sound of footsteps. Mitch looked to see the same unnamed person returning, jogging back to him and Lucky.

"He...he said yes." The person panted. Mitch could not help but be shocked. Lucky seemed to feel the same. However, he expressed his surprise.

"Really? Why?" He demanded quickly.

"Didn't say much about why. Just that BC was good...had potential...somone useful."

After recovering from his small bewilderment, Mitch felt happiness sprout. He was in! He did not knew why it was so easy. Maybe Notch knew something, considering he was the creator...

"Anyways." The person said. "He-he...Notch wants BC to get to know the place. He needs a tour and a place to stay. I'm gonna show him around."

Mitch and Lucky exchanged glances. Lucky ended the staring with a frustrated sigh. For a moment, Mitch had a better look of Lucky's face. He looked much older than SSundee and had not so tanned skin, brown hair that ended at his shoulders, and green eyes with suspicious red dots. That was all the information Mitch gathered before Lucky turned and walked away. He headed back to the tunnel, where the portal brought them. His strange, rough movements seemed rougher and slower than before.

"Come on, BC. Follow me." The unnamed person, now his tour guide, chirped. Mitch decided to ignore Lucky for now and listen to his tour guide. The guide might give decent, noteworthy information.

Mitch and the guide climbed out of the ravine. Mitch looked around to see they were in a forest. The guide gestured Mitch to follow him, heading east. Mitch saw that they were leaving the forest and going to a desert.

"So wait, let me get this straight." A voice began. It was not the guide's, but very familiar to Mitch. Mitch turned to see something amazing at the border of the forest and the desert. A young bacca, holding a magma cream, was talking to a young player, who was leaning against a tree, reading a book.

"With this thingy, I can make a potion that protects me from fire and lava?" The bacca questioned.

"Yes." The bacca's companion replied with a nod, but did not look up.

"Oh, cool!" The furry player exclaimed. After a moment of silent, the bacca presented the magma cream to his friend. "Can you brew this thingy for me, Seto?" He asked.

"Sure, but when we get back." Young Seto answered, still not moving his eyes off the book. Mitch stopped from walking. He was in awe. Young Jerome and Seto were right there. They did not look too different from their present-day selves. Only slightly shorter, but nothing major. It was also interesting how Seto agreed to brew a potion for Jerome. In the new present, Seto did not make potions. That was a sign that Seto was not affected yet.

"Oh, those are some of the new players Notch created." The guide said. He must had thought Mitch was observing them out of curiosity. "There's more of them beyond. Can we continue?" Mitch forced himself out of his wonder to follow the guide.

As they arrived to the desert, civilization grew. There were buildings and young players about. Mitch was relieved to see players with familiar moving style. It almost felt like home.

"Players are working together to survive." The guide began. "Just like your people. Mine, dig, hunt..."

_"Mitch..." _Something whispered, interrupting Mitch's focus.

"Huh?" Mitch paused for a moment. However, the guide did not. He must had not heard Mitch or...that whisper.

The whisper was not the "don't do this" voice. It was more demanding, high-pitched, and taunting. BajanCanadian looked around the surrounding. He noticed, in the distant on top of a sandy hill, was a temple. Some players, dressed like his tour guide, stood near it, guarding it. For some reason, the whisper felt like it originated from that temple.

_"Mitch...It won't be long until players remember you..."_ The whisper said. Mitch raised an eyebrow. Remember? Won't be long?

"BC!" The guide's voice snapped, bringing Mitch back to reality.

"What?" He said, jerking up.

"...I don't think there's much left to show. The rest is just more land to explore. I'll take you to Notch's reserved camp. That's were all of the old miners getting respawn back are assigned."

"Oh, OK."

"Follow me. And...stay with me this time."

At the evening, Mitch found himself in small wooden cabin, walking back and forth. He was left alone. The guide left him after introducing the old miners' camp and Mitch's own place to stay. The cabin was big enough for a double chest, crafting table, furnace, and bed. It also had space for Mitch to wander and ponder.

Mitch was organizing his thoughts. Clearly, he hit a jackpot. Lucky, the whisper, his younger friends. For Mitch, he felt closer to the time alter. However, Mitch now knew that he did not have to identify the alter. He could just find his younger self and protect him from anything unusual. That was Mitch's plan for the next day. Tomorrow, he would have two days left until Minecraft updated. Based off young Jerome's request for Seto to brew something, the time alter did not happen. Seto was still himself.

Mitch had to find young BajanCanadian. He had to gain his younger's self trust and protect him from the time alter. Mitch did not knew when the time alter would happen. All he knew was that if he protected young Mitch until he strongly befriended Jerome and the others, his mission was accomplished. By then, the time alter could not take Mitch's friends away from BajanCanadian. It would be powerless. The alternate present could not make Mitch barely acquainted with his friends. Easy. Hopefully, it would take young Mitch a short amount of time to lead the past to Mitch's preferred present.

Mitch heard someone approaching the camp. He looked outside from the window of his wooden residence. He saw Lucky entering the camp. There was stone in his hands. The older person looked up and saw Mitch. BajanCanadian slightly jumped back. Lucky approached Mitch's cabin and knocked on his door. Mitch decided it was best to open it, if he did not want to arouse suspicion.

"Yes?" Mitch asked Lucky when he opened the door.

"I still have my eye on you." Lucky said. "I don't know why Notch approved you, but there's something weird about you." He showed Mitch the stack of stone bricks he was holding. "I returned to the old world and hid the tunnel to the portal. But if we do get intruders and such, I blame you."

Silence then sat between Mitch and Lucky. Mitch heard more movement. He inferred that there were other people like Lucky around.

"So, anything else you want?" Mitch asked. He wanted the mysterious person to leave. Lucky kept attempting to be modest and innocent, but probably even himself knew he was starting to sound threatening.

"...Just consider my promise." Lucky replied. He began to back away. "Especially in a world that I know better than you. There's knowledge that you don't have about this new Minecraft." _That irony_, Mitch snickered in his mind. It was Lucky who was clueless.

"Anyways, we're not friends." Lucky continued. "There's no secrets. No secret codeword-"

"Codeword?" Mitch wondered outloud. He did not expect codeword to describe his relationship with Lucky. "Like RITFAS?" Once again, his curiosity dictated his brain. He did not mean to blurt that mysterious word out. However, he could not catch himself in time.

Lucky's defensive expression shifted into shock and wonder. "RITFAS?" He repeated. He said it with ease, as if he always knew that word. He shifted his eye to the right. Mitch looked that direction, seeing that another person, the prototype player kind, was looking at them, awe and worry in his eyes.

"What, 'are I defensive?'." Lucky said. He redesigned RITFAS into a ridiculous question. "That's not proper grammar." He added. He and Mitch looked back to the spectating person. Suspicion melted in his eyes and he walked away, as if nothing happened. However, something did happened. BajanCanadian knew it. The mention of RITFAS, whatever that meant, triggered something in Lucky and that guy. The prototype miners were hiding something...

"...This isn't our last conversation." Lucky finally stated. Looked like he finally realized the conversation was becoming too long. He turned and walked away. Mitch closed the door, glad and disappointed that Lucky was gone. Mitch knew that Lucky was going to be on his nerves for the rest of his mission. However, he could also ride on the logic of the mission. Mitch did not have to know what the time alter was to stop it. However, he guessed it would help to have at least a prediction of what it was. What would isolate young Mitch from his friends, what would alter their personalities, _who caused the time alter_...

Lucky guaranteed that he was keeping an eye on Mitch. BajanCanadian decided he would return the favor.


End file.
